Shimanami Kaido – Cycling Through Sensational Scenery
Shimanami Kaido
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
In planning for our trip to Japan my sister suggested we look into the Shimanami Kaido, a famous scenic bike route across several islands. It didn’t take any convincing for us to add it to our itinerary. Now, I had one main stipulation I set for myself on this trip, and that was that we would stay in every hotel for at least 2 nights. I didn’t want to have to deal with our luggage or navigating to a new place daily. So while most people would probably start the Shiminami Kaido directly from one end, and possibly stay in towns along the way for a night, we didn’t do that. The north end of the Shiminami Kaido is about an hour outside of Hiroshima by public transportation so we opted to make a day trip of the bike route from our hotel in Hiroshima
Transportation Hiccups
We opted to catch an early Shinkansen (bullet train) out to Onomichi (the closer end of the bike route) so that we’d be able to utilize as much time as possible on the bikes. Upon hindsight we could have purchased an “unreserved shinkansen” which is slightly cheaper, and doesn’t have a time or seat associated with the ticket because our 6:20am train car was completely empty. We had the whole car to ourselves most of the ride. Granted, at the time of booking we hadn’t really known what “unreserved” vs “reserved” shinkansen tickets actually meant.
Getting to the town of Onomichi was easy. Once in town we had a 15 minute bus ride down to the port where the bike rental I had previously reserved was located. That was confusing.
Google maps gives directions in English. Knowing the English name of a bus tells me nothing when I’m at a bus station with lots of places to stand and only Japanese characters at the various benches. We spent a long time trying to figure out which spot was the the spot for bus “1” since none of the stops used Arabic numerals.
We thought we figured it out, because Andrew saw “ichi” (“one”) written next to one of the signs but a bus with a “5” and “onomichi port” showed up where we were waiting. Since the port was where we were heading, we reluctantly got on. We thought maybe the numbers were telling us specific busses, not necessarily bus routes? It at least had our destination on it. Well as I’m sure you’ve guessed, it was not the bus we were supposed to take. But it did fortunately get us to the port, just a little slower than the bus google maps had told us about.
Having messed that up, I definitely became more paranoid about any directions requiring the use of a bus from then on. In Korea the busses and bus stops were always indicated with Arabic numbers so it was easy to match up which bus was yours without knowing the language.
Getting Geared Up
Picking up the bikes was easy. We had previously reserved them so they had them sitting out for us (we were a little late due to the bus situation, but it wasn’t a problem at all). They gave us maps, helmets, locks, and pointed us towards the ferry to the first island, Mukaishima. I’m sure had we spoken Japanese they would have given us a little more information, but it was plenty for us to get rolling.
The ferry to the start was the classic style we’re used to in the Pacific Northwest that could be used for cars, although the size would only carry maybe 4 of them. The one we took was mostly used by pedestrians and bikes, and a few motorcycles. We all lined up behind the folded up ramp and waited to get across the water. It was kind of neat seeing all the school uniforms on board knowing that this was part of their regular commute to school. The distance was short, so the ferry got us across quickly and it seemed to operate very regularly, probably every 15-20 minutes.
Let's Ride!
The Shimanami Kaido is a 70km (43 mi) long route across six islands. It offered stunning views, and was very easy to follow. There was a blue line the entire way. “Just follow the blue line”. There were a couple optional routes, so at those intersections you had to read signs, but they always came with English text. It was so nice to not have to think about the route we were taking. There were also ample restrooms and vending machines along the way, as well as some water fountains where we could refill our bottles. It had a mixture of bike / pedestrian path and street, but it was fairly quiet roads all things considered. However there were definitely some areas of riding through industrial areas, so if you have kids or a fear of traffic you should be aware that there is road riding.
At the start of our route most of the shops were still closed so we used the opportunity to get some uninterrupted biking in. We enjoyed the views and riding. It was very exciting when we came up to our first bridge, the Innoshima Bridge. There were photo ops before the approach, and then on the bridge we were on our own level below the driving traffic.
We did pass a lot of industrial spaces in our first stretch. I found it interesting because unlike in America where the ones you get close to always seem to be abandoned or behind massive walls. People were actively working, moving giant steel pipes around and various other impressive looking tasks out in the open right off the road.
The second bridge, Ikuchi, is more what we expected with the bridges. It was a large cable stay bridge and the bikes were on our separated side from the rest of the traffic. While the Innoshima bridge was more novel, the Ikuchi bridge was much more scenic because it didn’t have fencing all around it.
Citrus Island
According to the map, Ikuchijima Island, the third island on the route, is known for their citrus and sometimes referred to as Lemon Island. The island and businesses on it definitely didn’t want you to forget that.
Around 10:30am we passed by a famous citrus gelato restaurant, Dolce, and we couldn’t pass up an ice cream opportunity so of course we stopped to try some flavors. Their top three flavors were 1) lemon, 2) sea salt & milk, and 3) orange; I got 1 & 3 while Andrew got 1 & 2. After ice cream we decided we should support the nearby shops as well and bought some fresh squeezed orange juice and some surprisingly amazing lemon fries. Seriously, I’d get those fries again in a heartbeat.
We probably could have ridden the entire 70km Shiminami Kaido route in one day, but knowing we’d want to stop and site see, we instead set our final end point in the town of Setoda. Setoda also made sense because we were trying to get back to Hiroshima for the night, and from Imbari (the end of the Shiminami Kaido) it was three times the cost and commute time, making it 3 hours! No thank you. Setoda Port conveniently included a bike drop off and a direct ferry to the mainland. It also had shops and attractions to check out as well.
Kosanji Temple
We made it to Setoda around 11:00am and opted to swing into the Kosanji Temple before it got too hot. This temple was more similar to the Buddhist ones we saw in Korea with lots of colors, but definitely had some elements of Japanese Shinto temples to it (like a Temizuya, the water purification pavillion at the entrance).
This temple also came with a large marble monument known as the “Hill of Hope”. It reminded us of American folk art (thinking Garden of Eden in Kansas) but instead of being made of cheap concrete, it was constructed with 3000 tons of imported marble!
Next we went into the cave of 1000 buddhas which was a pleasant discovery. It was a surprisingly long cave, with as the name implies, thousands of Buddha sculptures. There was also a neat section depicting some kind of punishment related story of maybe going down to hell as we went deeper into the cave but we had no service in the cave so sadly we couldn’t translate the story. There were also small waterfalls and even bats amidst the Buddha statues. The cave was much larger than we expected!
The Kosanji Temple was one of our favorite temples of the trip. I’m sure a huge part had to do with the lack of other people, but also the variety of buildings, shrines, cave and monuments made it a really cool experience.
After the temple we walked over to a cold soba restaurant, something we actually cook regularly at home so it was nice to get it at a restaurant. It was a cute little establishment with only 3 tables and great food. Andrew even got a citrus soba to match with where we were, although it wasn’t clear if you were supposed to eat the thinly sliced citrus fruit or just absorb their essence. The soba dipping sauce was strong and flavorful, much better than what we make at home. After we had eaten all of our noodles they brought out a pot of the soba cooking water which was meant to be mixed with the remainder of your dipping sauce and drank. This was the first time we had come across this and the experience was really pleasant and comforting way to close out the meal.
Above and Beyond
With food in our bellies we decided to ride a little past town and then double back to catch the ferry. I wanted to make it past the half way point and to the next island where they had a monument and rest area known as “the cyclists sanctuary”. It was as good a place as any to turn around so we took photos, bought some drinks and then turned it around. And by crossing the Tatara Bridge we even rode into a different prefecture!
The Tatara Bridge was one of my favorites. It was similar to the Ikuchi, but it was much longer. The views also just seemed to be better. I’m glad we got to ride across it twice with our out and back bonus adventure!
At just shy of 32 miles (51km) we made it back into Setoda where we could return the bikes. Riding the rental bikes definitely gave me a deep appreciation for my personal bike. They were most definitely too small for us and the saddle was one hundred percent not great. I laughed at the other bloggers advice telling people to bring bike shorts but now I see why they said it (although I still wouldn’t waste space in my luggage for them). But regardless of the bike comfort, it was still great to get out and ride amidst such beautiful scenery!
Calling it a Day
After returning the bikes we wandered down the Shiomachi Shopping Street. I don’t know if it was too late in the day or just a bad day of the week but compared to Miyajima it had a much smaller selection and not a very active shopping street. At least there were a couple shops open where we could go in and buy lemon treats.
We ended up at the port at the end of the street with about 40 min to spare before the next ferry would show up. Since we didn’t need to go back to Onomichi we were able to snag the next ferry out which conveniently went to Mihara station, one station closer to Hiroshima, our end destination. We bought our tickets in the ferry station from a vending machine that we needed to use our phones to translate. Sadly at close to 4pm, all the nearby cafes were closing down which meant no pre ferry treats. It must be a sleepy little town.
Our ferry back to Mihara station on the mainland was shaped more like a retired tourist sight seeing boat. It only had indoor seats and very dirty windows. There were about 6 of us on the ferry that seated probably around 60 people. While comically empty, it was a fun and scenic ride back.
In Mihara we opted to grab some gyoza and bao to go so we could save time and eat on the shinkansen home. We had some comical communication errors with the cashier but we got there in the end and both parties were laughing about it so we were all in good spirits. We later learned in Japan it’s normal for one person to order for everyone, so when I tried to order the same thing Andrew had ordered it probably came across as me confirming what he ordered instead of me wanting my own servings of what happened to be the same food.
The Mihara station was much smaller than the others we’ve waited in. Being a smaller station, while waiting for our train we did get to see several zip past the station at break neck speeds without stopping which was a neat experience. And when our shinkansen showed up it was even one of the themed ones! It was a cute blue color and One Piece themed.
The rest of the night was uneventful, we swung into the Hiroshima Pokemon Store, then headed to our hotel where we finished off the last of our soju we had bought back in Korea, did laundry and played yutnori, a traditional Korean game we had picked up as a souvenir back in Seoul.
Final Thoughts
The Shimanami Kaido was an awesome bike experience. They bill themselves as being “world class” and when it comes to views they aren’t wrong. However, I do want to point out this route isn’t as child friendly as the Rail Trails we find in the US. There were lots of sections where you could ride off the street separated from traffic, but there were also many sections where you couldn’t. The traffic was relatively light and courteous toward bikes so we didn’t have any complaints, but Andrew and I are also seasoned riders that tend to ignore the proximity of traffic. The bridges at least all had separated bike paths and spectacular – and bridges are often the thing that gets forgotten when it comes to cyclists’ safety.
The bike rental process was very easy, and it was great that there were lots of return options. They even offered drop off flexibility if you change your mind about where you want to drop bikes off (assuming you make it before they close!) I wish the bikes would have fit a little better. Maybe had we chosen “city bikes” instead of “cross bikes” they may have been comfier? Oh well, it was still fun.
I loved that we didn’t have to think while riding. It was literally “follow the blue line” so navigation was easy. It would be great to actually finish the route and there were several side spurs along the way that would be neat to explore. Maybe if we come back we’ll spend several days on the islands so that we can truly explore everything they have to offer.
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